Stuff

You could call this our hodge-podge area. Here you’ll find the details of our lives that aren't covered in the Sheila, Spencer or S2Cycle sections. Right now it covers: our new bio-diesel car, Food Choices, including some new developments, Spirituality, our relationship review and our cats. We’ve added a whole new sub-section about our home including the back-story of downsizing and photos of the new condo. Our newest adventure is a major change in our food choices called Eat to Live. It’s so major it gets its own page.

Our New Car: 2003 Jetta TDI runs BioDiesel

One of the reasons we downsized is because we want to live more lightly on the earth. For that reason we’ve coveted the Toyota hybrid car, the Prius. We had decided if we got what we wanted for the house we would look into a buying a new car. The process of exploring was a wonderful distraction while we were in transition. We learned a lot about both hybrids and also the benefits of using bio-diesel. After much reading and shopping we purchased a 2003 Jetta TDI from the Green Car Company in late October, 2005. It’s fully loaded: black leather interior, manual transmission, CD, sunroof, and heated seats. We painted it a bright yellow (for increased  visibility) while we were cycling in Europe in July 2006! We’re excited to be ending our dependance on Middle-Eastern oil and we’ve added a sticker that says Bio-Diesel: No War Required. For an overview on bio-diesel visit: BioDiesel Now.

Carbon Neutral?

We just came across this web site that lets you calculate your CO2 impact and even pay offsets so you can drive "carbon neutral". After running the numbers on the car options we considered, we're very pleased to discover our vehicle is the BIG WINNER!

Here is the info, based on our actual annual miles (7,341):

• 2006 Prius: This car uses the equivalent of 137 gallons of gasoline each year. This means it produces 2657  pounds of CO2 annually.
• 2003 VW Jetta (gas): This car uses the equivalent of 194 gallons of gasoline each year. This means it produces 3763 pounds of CO2 annually.
• 2003 VW Jetta (diesel): This car uses the equivalent of 223 gallons of gasoline each year. This means it produces 4326 pounds of CO2 annually.
• 2003 VW Jetta (biodiesel): This car uses the equivalent of 48 gallons of gasoline each year. This means it produces 931 pounds of CO2 annually.
   

Food Choices & EarthSave

Our food choices have shaped our lives dramatically for more than a decade. In 1990 we heard John Robbins speak at the University of Washington. We immediately read his book Diet for a New America and gave up meat, dairy, and eggs on the basis of the environmental destruction those industries cause. We founded the Seattle chapter of EarthSave to help spread the word. Spencer served as secretary for 5 years, while Sheila was the president. Sheila eventually gave up that position and helped the organization start a healthy food festival, "The Taste of Health" while she also served on the national board of directors. After 10 years we both retired. To learn more about the connection between your food choices and the environment visit EarthSave’s national website. John Robbins has a new book out called The Food Revolution: How Your Diet Can Save Your Life and The World. It covers updated information about genetically modified foods and Mad Cow Disease.

New as of April 20, 2007. We have decided that despite our plant-based diet we have been consuming way too much processed food, mostly in the form of soy and nowhere near enough whole foods such as fruits and veggies. SO... we’ve just started a 6-wekk program based on the book Eat to Live by Joel Fuhrman, MD. His web site offers a wealth of support including a comprehensive recipe database, discussion forum and an archive of past radio talks and newsletters. We’re excited to finally be cleaning up our eating and hope that we’ll be thinner and healthier by Memorial Day weekend when we attend this year’s Northwest Tandem Rally in Yakima. Read the full story here.

Spirituality

We’ve been on a spiritual journey which has led us to Buddhism. We've been practicing vipassana (Insight) meditation since 1992. We attend annual week-long silent retreats each summer at Cloud Mountain. Most recently we've discovered a teacher, Phillip Moffitt, who combines mindful movement with meditation. That combination has struck a chord in us, as it melds nicely with the yoga practice we do. We've sat with Phillip on several retreats including at Spirit Rock and expect we’ll continue to do so at least annually. This serendipitously has also led us to sitting again with the very first Buddhist teacher, Julie Wester, who also teaches at Spirit Rock.

What is Insight Meditation?

(borrowed from Seattle Insight Meditation Society)
The term "insight meditation" refers both to a spiritual practice shared by all forms of Buddhism, and to a particular historical Buddhist tradition. The word "insight" is a common translation of the Pali word vipassana, which means "clear seeing". Developing "clear seeing" helps people live their lives with growing skillfulness and ease.

As a spiritual practice, insight meditation helps cultivate the qualities of mindfulness and equanimity, which in turn foster the deepening of wisdon and compassion, the gateways to liberation and freedom.

As a spiritual tradition, insight meditation draws on the accumulated wisdom of the Theravadin Buddhist lineage as practiced over centuries in the monasteries of Thailand, Burma, and Sri Lanka, and as transmitted over the last thirty years to teachers in the West.

Our Annual Relationship Review

Every year we go to Black Butte (near Sisters/Bend, Oregon) for 4 days between Christmas and New Year's to do what we call our relationship review. It's a structured set of questions which we discuss and journal. Then we set both personal and relationship goals for the coming year and beyond. We've been doing this process since before we were married. If you would find it useful you’re welcome to download a copy and customize it to suit your needs. It’s something we really look forward to doing together. We recommend setting aside a large chunk of uninterrupted time, ideally away from phones, computers, etc. It takes us an entire day to go through it.

Khubie: The World’s Most Wonderful Cat

Khubie, (aka Khubla Khan, The Big Unit, The Tank, The King of All Cats, The Mayor of John Street, The Gravel Truck, The Big Guy, His Sublime Feline Majesty) died September 7, 2001 due to complications from kidney failure. He retained his charm until the very end, even befriending strangers as we took him to the vet one last time. He was a great big presence in our lives and is often missed. He was 17 1/2 years old and dearly beloved by all those who knew him. We’ve posted his farewell/birthday celebration which happened in March, 2001. We also have a photo album of him with some of his friends.

Two new cats enter our hearts (2002)

When Khubie passed on Sheila knew she wanted another cat and Spencer wanted to wait a year and see. Five months later, on Friday, February 1, 2002 we ventured out to browse the cats at PAWS (Progressive Animal Welfare Shelter) and ended up bringing home two wonderful felines. Sheila says it’s going to take two to replace Khubie!

Morrie
Morrie is a two year old orange tabby weighing in at 17 solid pounds. He’s already settled in and is quite friendly.

Misha
Misha  is a four year old calico. At 11 pounds she is quite rotund. At the shelter she was totally a lap kitty. So far at home she hasn’t come out from hiding under the shirts in the closet, but we’re sure within a few days she’ll adapt.

Two week update
The kids are fully integrated in the house now. Misha has come out from hiding though she still tends to spend a lot of her days in the basement. She now sleeps with us every night and frequently sits in our laps. Morrie spends his days atop his catpost/perch. We’re hoping once Misha gets over her cold and can smell the catnip on her post that she’ll enjoy hers as well. They’re not exacly playmates yet but they can be in the same room together without fighting which we take as a good sign. We even play with both them at the same time with the kitty-tease (fishing pole) their Aunt Carla gave them. We took them in for their first vet visit. Morrie got his shots and a clean bill of health. Misha is taking cold medication and will be going in for some dental work the end of February, an unexpected expense. All in all we’re thrilled to have allowed kitty love back in our hearts.

Both cats enjoy hanging out on the perch.
That’s Ellen Gass visiting Morrie from Leavenworth.

Two year update
Due to our decision to downsize to a condo, and given that Morrie and Misha never did take a liking to each other, we decided everyone would be better off if we found a new home for Misha. We put a few signs up and it wasn’t long before a lovely young woman who works at the food coop adopted Misha. She’s loving being an only child, losing weight and playing more.

August, 2006: Sadly, Morrie isn’t taking too well to the condo. We’re not sure if it’s the small size with no stairs to run up and down or the proximity of so many other animals or what. He’s been crying a lot and waking us during the night. We hired an animal communicator who conveyed that Morrie just doesn’t feel safe here. She gave us specific affirmations to do daily. We did that the entire month before leaving for Europe, then sent him off to Steve & Carla’s house to stay while we were gone. He was very happy there. Time will tell if he’ll adjust to returning to our condo!

April, 2007: Finally Morrie seems to be pretty well adapted to condo living. WHEW!

Email us at:
Sheila@S2Cycle.com or Spencer@S2Cycle.com
Page Last Updated: 09/05/07
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